Lebron James

    Lebron James, also regarded by some as the "King" is one of the greatest basketball players to ever play the sport. Lebron is a four-time NBA champion while also racing up four league MVPs. Lebron James currently plays for the Los Angeles Lakers and is on his search for his fifth championship. Lebron isn't just known for his outstanding play on the basketball court, He's also known for being a great role model for his vast fanbase, which can be seen all across the world from the NBA sidelines, on tv, or even at your local taco restaurant. 

(Figure 1) Lebron's jerseys he's worn throughout his career

   

 Gameday

    

    The most popular way fans admire and celebrate LeBron's greatness through fandom would be by cheering him on and supporting him on the basketball court. Lebron James has the largest fanbase in all basketball and all sports as it's safe to say LeBron's definitely a fan favorite! Lebron is famous for leading the NBA in jersey sales every year and as a lifelong Lebron fan, I have a lot of his jerseys myself! (Figure 1) (6). Lebron was gifted the nickname "The King" at a very young age, his freshman year of high school to be exact, and ever since he's been living up to it. With Lebron's vast fanbase it's not unusual to hear Lebron chants in opposing gyms as he truly has fans all across the world. Fans love to celebrate his fandom by cutting out life-size cardboard Lebron heads to bring to games to help cheer the king on, along with wearing his jersey (Figure 2) (7). This season Lebron is chasing the all-time scoring title for the league currently held by Kareen Abdul Jabbar, so far this season Lebron has been getting an immense amount of support from fans as we are cheering louder than ever for him to move up to the number one spot as that'll be one of Lebrons greatest accomplishments in his entire career (3).

(Figure 2) Fan holding Lebron cutout at game

    Royal Family

    LeBron's fandom doesn't stop on the court though as he and his royal family are definitely one of the most popular families as they are often regarded as the modern Rockefeller family (1). Lebron is married to his high school sweetheart Savannah Brinson, and they have three children together Bronny, Bryce, and Zhuri (2). Bronny is the fan favorite in the sports world as it seems he's following right in his dad's footsteps and is becoming a great young player with his eyes set on being a high draft pick in the next couple of years. I along with many Bronny fans are waiting to see where he commits to playing college basketball as his decision may be one of the biggest college basketball announcements of all time (2). Bryce is the middle child and is also a rising star on the court he's also famous when it comes to Tik Tok as he is a frequent content creator. Bryce's fandom on Tik Tok has grown immensely as his followers love his content which usually consists of dancing or making highlight reels to show off his hooping skills. No matter what content Bryce creates Tik Tok seems to love it. The youngest James child is Zhuri, she is eight years old and wins over the hearts of all of the James fans as frequently present in Tik Tok videos being cute. 

https://youtu.be/QzGd_h3QGWQ

    

  

    A Meal Fit For a King

  Taco Tuesday is perhaps the best day of the week if you're a Lebron fan. According to Lebron, he's the biggest taco fan you'll ever know, claiming he could eat them every day. LeBron's love for tacos fueled his inspiration to make it a fan-favorite holiday that comes around every week! Lebron even went as far as to get "Taco Tuesday" patented but sadly was denied in court (5). This only grew taco Tuesday's popularity with fans. Restaurants began to adopt LeBron's idea of offering taco Tuesday deals for cheap. Fans from all across the world love taco Tuesday and enjoy the king's favorite meal before or after watching a game whether that be special taco Tuesday stands at Lakers games or even in your own kitchen thanks to this fandom of Lebrons. Taco Tuesday is becoming so popular with fans that new taco recipes as seen in figure 3 are being created and introduced to Lebron and he absolutely loves it as it's a great way to bond and celebrate with fans (5).

(Figure 3) Lebron and his tacos

    How I Contribute To The Fandom

    While growing up I was obsessed with basketball, every second I wasn't watching it on tv I was in a gym or in my driveway shooting hoops or scrimmaging with friends. Lebron James was and continues to be my favorite player of all time for many reasons such as his versatility on the court as he truly can play every position he's that talented. Along with his sense of humor in post-game interviews paired with always knowing what to say in response to tough questions, LeBron really is a great role model. I was seven when I went to my first NBA game and of course, it was to watch LeBron play. I remember the day like it was yesterday I went with my dad and cousin and the whole ride there I just remember how excited we were to watch the King play the 76ers. As we got to the Wells Fargo arena in Philadelphia I remember all the buzz and excitement going on within the arena as everyone was full of excitement and cheer for their respective teams. I remember as the announcers called LeBron's name and the whole arena got so loud and chats erupted "MVP" "MVP" "MVP" as I joined in on the chants I couldn't believe he was getting "MVP" chants and the game didn't even start yet not to mention it wasn't his home arena as he played for the Cavaliers at that time. My dad secretly brought a big LeBron cardboard cutout for us to hold up to cheer for the king as they went on to win the game, it was truly a night I'll remember forever as watching Lebron's greatness in person that night is the reason he has the largest fan base in all of the sports and its no wonder why.

Lebron dunking on the 76ers

References

(1) Debbarma, S. (2022, September 14). "they look like the 2023 rockefellers": Billionaire Lebron James and family left his mother Gloria in awe as 'the royal family of the NBA' posed for latest photoshoot. EssentiallySports. Retrieved December 2, 2022, from https://www.essentiallysports.com/nba-basketball-news-they-look-like-the-2023-rockefellers-billionaire-lebron-james-and-family-left-his-mother-gloria-in-awe-as-the-royal-family-of-the-nba-posed-for-latest-photoshoot/

(2) Donnelly, G. (2022, January 13). Everything you need to know about Lebron James' Kids. ClutchPoints. Retrieved December 2, 2022, from https://clutchpoints.com/lebron-james-kids-everything-you-need-to-know-about-bronny-bryce-zhuri

(3) ESPN Internet Ventures. (n.d.). Lebron James Stats, news, bio. ESPN. Retrieved December 2, 2022, from https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/1966/lebronjames

(4) James, L. (n.d.). Lebron James Family Foundation. LeBron James Family Foundation. Retrieved December 2, 2022, from https://www.lebronjamesfamilyfoundation.org/

(5) Sullivan, R. (2020, July 28). Lebron James Taco Tuesday analysis. Sports Gambling Podcast. Retrieved December 2, 2022, from https://www.sportsgamblingpodcast.com/2020/07/28/lebron-james-taco-tuesday-analysis/

(6) The lebron james miami heat swingman jersey collection - 6 NWT large SZ jerseys. Worthpoint. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2022, from https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/lebron-james-miami-heat-swingman-1850718123

(7) Gray, A. (2014, July 1). Hot clicks: Cardboard cutouts of athletes. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 2, 2022, from https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2014/07/01/cardboard-cutouts-athletes#gid=ci02559114b000279d&pid=messi_0jpg